there's a survey of the top female economists in the u.s. to see who they support. find out what they say. we'll see you back here next weekend. have a great weekend. hello, everyone. a look at the top stories this hour in the "cnn newsroom." u.s. embassies and consulates are locked tight today. fear of a terror attack has them on high alert. americans are urged to stay vigilant. people on venice beach in california on the board walk there ran for their lives as a hit and run driver swerved in to the crowd. a woman on her honeymoon was killed. the driver now under arrest. and breaking news about a-rod's future in major league baseball. all linked to a doping scandal.

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and more on that breaking news right now in major league baseball. the steroid investigation, "usa today" is reporting yankees third baseman alex rodriguez will be suspended through the 2014 season. that suspension comes tomorrow. the paper also says a-rod will appeal that suspension. that appeal would leave him eligible to play tomorrow night in the yankees game against the white sox. let's bring in andy shoels of bleacher report. andy, what more can you tell us? we heard from an adamant and seemingly confident a-rod on friday and now days later looks like he will be suspended? >> yes. this is actually good news for a-rod. you know, there was the talk that maybe he was going to get a lifetime ban. that looks like it's off the table now and suspended for the rest of this year and next year. but through the appeals process, he gets to continue playing and will be in the lineup monday

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night in chicago and these arbitration hearings, what he would be going through now, they take quite a while. a-rod could get to play in to september while this arbitration hearing is going on. so it's pretty good win for a-rod. not only not banned for life, playing through the appeals process and, you know, he makes about half a billion dollars in his career and got pretty good lawyers and a chance they'll be able to get the suspension taken down even further but if it sticks after the appeals process he will be suspended for this season and then all of next season. >> help us understand what and how this so-called mountain of evidence has piled up against a-rod. i say mountain of evidence because there's been a number of reports, today's "new york times," at usa today" and espn.com reporting there's a

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mountain of evidence but correct me if i'm wrong or misunderstood the evidence, there's not a positive steroid test. he's not failed a test. what is the so-called mountain of evidence that he has been a user of performance-enhancing drugs? >> you're absolutely right. he never failed a test. the reason they're going after him more than anybody else, reportedly just 50 games, a-rod's going to get so much more because according to reports major league baseball says he obstructed their investigation in to the bio genesis clinic, meaning he did things to try to keep them from finding out that he did receive performance-enhancing drugs from them and the reason -- of course, he lied about it. that's the reason they're going after a-rod. not only the big fish in the whole thing but tried to obstruct the investigation. not about the performance-enhancing drugs, per se. that would have been 50 games but tried to obstruct their investigation to go after him so

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hard. >> and andy, just this friday, a-rod taking to the cameras, the microphones and said that -- or really implied, never said the yankees but he said, you know, he is not getting the resistance from the fans or the other yankees. it's not a good time to say from whom but many were inferring that he was saying that the yankees just don't want to live up to that guarantee of $100 million and they're looking for a way out of that and that's what's led to this. what are your sources or people in the mlb circle saying about this, whether, you know, what he says has any truth? >> yeah. there might be some traction to that. you know, for every 50 games a-rod gets suspended, the yankees sustain $7 million. you can do the math. 215 games for the suspension, the yankees say, clear over $30 million for that suspension and that's why people are suggesting

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to a-rod, yankees in major league baseball saying ban for life. suspend him for as long as possible saving money with him off the field and the suspension, you're suspended without pay. your contract for the time of the suspension is void. so, that's another reason a-rod is saying they were conspireing with major league baseball to keep him off the field to save money if he's not playing. >> all right. andy sholes, thank you for being with us. if you want more information on this and the pending game that a-rod is scheduled to play in tomorrow, go to bleacherreport.com. thanks so much, andy. appreciate it. >> no problem. a big story we're following today, 22 u.s. embassies and consulates closed. american travelers around the world on alert and new details are coming in on what may have led to the concerns that al qaeda is planning a major attack. we have reporters around the world monitoring the situation at the embassies in the middle east and northern africa.

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remain locked up. let's start with our new details out of washington now. emily schmidt is more with more on this. what have what have we learned with what precipitated the embassy closers? >> we have no information. barbara starr report that is an intercepted message of senior al qaeda operatives within the last few days really caused the concern. cnn agreed to a request from an obama administration official not to go in to details about the message all because of its sensitivity. we know that this message was a critical factor leading to the shut-down and not the only factor. several u.s. officials said they have seen an increase of threats of yemen for weeks. there have been some major prison breaks in the region that was affected, leaving al qaeda members who were behind bars unaccounted for. regardless, this was an unprecedented move. we saw something we don't always see in washington -- agreement

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between democrats and republicans saying they think the administration did the right thing shutting down the 2 2 embassies and consulates. president obama is celebrating his birthday at camp david and now back in washington. the white house said he is briefed about the threat and the national security team met to discuss it. fredericka? >> emily, it is monday in some places where these embassies have been closed, so what do we know about what's happening next? will they remain closed or open for business? >> reporter: it's a question everybody's asking. we don't have an answer yet. it's 4:00 in washington but beginning to be monday in many of the area where is the embassies and consulates have been closed. when they first announced there would be a sunday closure, it was left open that that could be extended as to whether it will we are still waiting to hear. >> thanks so much in washington. all right. looking around the world now, as it pertains to the global threat, abu da by, the united

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arab emirates would be open but doors are shut. john dipterios has more. >> reporter: washington took a very broad brush approach here shutting down 22 facilities for a 24-hour period. but it raised some eyebrows here in abut dhabi. we are about a mile away from the diplomatic quarter where the u.s. embassy is. even in standard news coverage, we can't go in with a still or video camera in to that area. the uae is 300dy rom ters across the straits are iran and security is front and center. if fact, a european ambassador told me he thought this policy response was a direct response to the attacks in libya september 11th, 2012. washington did not want to get

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caught with its guard down. one point here, to make as we conclude. that this is the last week of ramadan, a time for prayer and reflection for muslims. the security officials suggest a moment for al qaeda to regroup and perhaps attack. and this is also weighing heavily on the minds of those who made the decision in washington. fredericka, back to you. >> thank you so much, john. moving to cairo where the u.s. embassy was also closed. arwa damon is there. >> reporter: fredericka, behind this blast wall, the u.s. embassy in cairo. we are not allowed to film in there. this location may be of particular concern because egyptian officials say that back in may they detained three men who were plotting to attack it. those men are believed to have ties to al qaeda and around a year ago september 11th an angry

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mob tried to attack the u.s. embassy here and since ovincens film and that night we saw the coordinated complex attack against the u.s. consulate in benghazi that left ambassador chris stevens and three other americans dead. the united states understandably not wanting to take any risks when it comes to securing the facilities and its diplomats. >> all right. thanks so much, arwa damon, there in cairo. well, we'll have more on the terror threat alert straight ahead. we'll be talking with a former cia agent and hear from an al qaeda expert about how strong that terror organization has become again. all right. now to a horrifying story right here in the u.s. chaos at one of los angeles area's busiest tourist spots. the venice beach board walk. a hit and run driver plunged the car in to a crowd there late yesterday. police say the driver was,

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quote, one guy bent on doing evil, end quote. they say his actions were deliberate. a woman on her honeymoon was killed. >> it was like something out of a movie, something you never expect to see. people flying, laying on the ground. tents flying. everywhere. >> he had to have pressed his foot to the gas pedal. pedal to the metal because the tires started screeching. he was looking for blood. that guy was -- that guy was -- his intention was to kill people. >> nick valencia here now with new information on the man police arrested and charged with murder. and do we know more about him and why he allegedly did this? >> reporter: the motive is part of the ongoing investigation. 38-year-old nathan campbell is the suspect charged with murder, held on $1 million bond. i asked the police if there's any coordination between campbell and the people he ran over. they said right now there's no line drawn between any of them.

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they told me that it's one guy bent on doing evil. one person was killed and a handful of people were injured when police say this man intentionally drove his car on to a busy venice beach board walk. the witnesses said that this man it looked like he did it on purpose. >> he just drove and took that left turn down the center of the boa boardwalk and just started driving and bodies were flying and people were screaming. it was absolute mayhem. >> if the intention was to injure people, 5:00 p.m., a couple of hours before the sun goes down. time of day when venice beach is packed with people. fred? >> nick, you know, i have been to venice beach. you know it. >> yeah. >> it is open to anyone who wants to be there. but how's it believed that this car got on here without anybody really noticing it or, you know, just being caught you have guard like that. >> we called the councilman to try to get information about why

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there's no barricades on the boardwalk. that probably made it very easy for this man to get in on the boardwalk. i have been there a number of times as you have. cars can drive on intentionally or accidentally on to the board walk. police say the man did it intentionally. witnesses say he got in a parked car and sped up trying to plow through people, fred. a disturbing scene there yesterday evening. >> terrible situation. all right. thanks so much. >> you bet. all right. a former cia operative says he's never seen the u.s. government close 22 overseas outposts at one time. i'll ask him how serious this threat of an al qaeda attack is in his view. where he thinks the biggest trouble spot might be. plus, a student gets a $4 million settlement from the u.s. government. seems like a lot of money. right? wait until you hear what happened to him.

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u.s. embassies around the world are on high alert. cnn learned an intercepted message among senior al qaeda leaders is in large part why the u.s. has shut down 2 2 embassie and kons lates in the middle east and africa. president obama is briefed by top members of the national security team all weekend long. the defense and state departments and other white house senior staff all involved.

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bob baer is a former cia operative and a cnn security and surveillance correspondent. >> hi. >> bob, what other details do you think intelligence has gathered? >> oh, i'm quite convinced this was based on solid evidence. you don't close 22 embassies and consulates on something flimsy. >> what do you mean? >> chatter, a known player in al qaeda on the telephone saying, all right, we're going to hit. now's the time. is everybody in place? these conversations that are a bit vague but if the players are important and type of people to make things happen, washington pays attention. this didn't come from a human source. i've heard this from somebody, a guy i know. no. probably from chatter. >> if it's believed that yemen based operatives may be behind a

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lot of serious planning, you know, how porous has this country become? how much in the making has this moment come? >> well, you have to look at yemen, the mountainous areas of the country never under the control of the central government. it's a good place for al qaeda to hide, keep arms, make plans. the capital cannot send forces in to the areas and nothing we can do about it, either. you can drop drones, missile strikes but that's about it. >> reportedly the embassies and consulates may not be the targets according to some news reports and if that's the case, why close the embassies and consulates? what's the connection here in your view? >> well, the embassies and the consulates are the immediate threat, the easiest to get to, the most obvious. you can count in the back of people's minds in washington, actually the united states might be the target of this. i have read a lot of these

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intercepts before and you know something's coming but they don't really pinpoint where and when. >> okay. and we understand or at least we have been told before today it would be for a day. in your view, is this likely, this embassy and consulate closure, likely to go in to several days? >> well, i don't know about the closure but if you're laktd aal and listening to the news reports, you are in position to slip this back. we won't necessarily get another warning so this could go in to next week and next month. but i tend to agree with the white house. this is coming one way or another. >> what advantage do you believe al qaeda has just been given or any other extremists group that may be likely to be at the core of this terror threat? what advantage do they know how knowing that we have closed embassies, there's a global terror alert?

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>> well, i think they're gauging our reaction. this is what they want us to do is panic in a situation like this because they'll get more effect out of it. they want us to believe that there's another 9/11 coming. they want us to go in to a defensive position. they prefer we close down our embassies and consulates permanently. we are not going to but that's what they're after. >> bob, thanks so much for joining us from irvine, california. a young student gets thrown in to a jail cell and guess what. then forgotten for days. it sounds like a horror story from some repressive regime perhaps? well, guess what. it happened here in the u.s. of a. now pay back time. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's four course seafood feast. choose your soup, salad, entree, plus dessert all just $14.99. come into red lobster, and sea food differently. right now, go to redlobster.com

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the body of a snow border who was buried under ten feet of ice was recovered on mt. hood in oregon today. kgw reports the 25-year-old was climbing through a tunnel on the mountain yesterday when an ice chunk the size of a school bus fell on him. it took rus keers about three hours today to get his body out. now a horrifying mistake that forced the drug enforcement administration to settle a lawsuit for $4 million. they locked up an american college student in san diego and then forgot about him for five days. cnn's brian todd has more on how he survived and what led to him being detained in the first place. >> reporter: left for four and a half days in a windowless cell. no food or water the entire time. no one even checked on him. he was never formally arrested or charged. this didn't happen in a lawless, developing country. it happened in san diego. to an american college student

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daniel chong. >> i did go crazy. >> reporter: he just reached a $4.1 million settlement with the u.s. government. the nightmare began on april 21st of last year. he was visiting a friend at a house in the san diego area when agents of the drug enforcement administration burst in. they seized thousands of ecstasy pills, drugs and guns. chong admitted he'd smoked pot there and knew nothing of the other contraband. taking him to a holding cell -- they said they wouldn't charge you. what else? >> they'll come get me in a minute to take me home. >> reporter: minutes, hours, days passed. no food, water or toilet facilities. his lawyer says chong was in total darkness the last two days. >> what did you do to survive? >> eventually your instincts do kick in. and you start to realize what you have to do which is drink any fluid that's around which is my urine at the time. and i went ahead and did that.

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>> reporter: he hallucinated he said, so desperate he bit into the glasses, broke them and -- >> i tried to carve a message saying sorry, mom. on to my arm. but i -- i didn't finish that. >> reporter: did you call out? did you try to get their attention in any way? >> of course, i did. i don't think anybody sits there and med taits. i was kicking and screaming. >> reporter: finally, someone opened the cell. he spent three days in an icu. he lost 15 pounds. the dea apologized. an investigation ensued. neither the dea or the justice department will comment now beyond that. but chong's lawyers say that because no criminal intent was found, no one would be prosecuted. chong and his lawyers say they believe it was all accidental. martin horn who ran the new york city department of corrections says a key question is whether dea had ruled in place for

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incarceration. >> they are an investigations agency. they're not a corrections agency. they are neither equipped nor trained nor organized to super vise people who are held in confinement. >> reporter: a chong lawyer says at the time there were no written policies on the treatment of dea detainees but as a result of this case she says the agency has put new rules in place to make sure they're treated humanely. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> all right. breaking new details on the closures of 22 embassies and consulates. what is going on and who might this affect? stay right here.

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all right. new details now on the widespread u.s. embassy closures. the u.s. state department announced today it will close more embassies and consulates. unclear how many more right now. and it is also extending the closures of some of the 22 already shut down today. some of those embassies and consulates remaining closed now until saturday. u.s. state department said it was not an indication of a new threat several embassies were closed today will reopen tomorrow, including those in baghdad and kabul. all right.

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in light of the new threat of baal qaeda, we wanted to look at whether the terrorist group is getting stronger. listen to what president obama said about al qaeda back in october during his re-election campaign. >> i said we'd refocus on the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and we have. and today, a new tower rises above the new york skyline and al qaeda's on the path to defeat and osama bin laden is dead. >> let's bring in cnn security analyst peter bergen. peter, you heard the president say last fall that al qaeda was on the path to defeat but now you see this. is this a result of a reorganization of al qaeda? does it appear as though it is still a threat or even more so of a threat than it once was even with the removal of bin laden and several of the lieutenants? >> well, fredericka, al qaeda hasn't attacked the united states since 9/11. since july 7th, 2005.the west -

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and under the obama administration, almost the entire top leadership is either killed in drone strikes or in the case of bin laden killed in a navy s.e.a.l. raid and the documents recovered from the bin laden compound paint an organization that well under the pressures they were under and thinking of moving from western pakistan where all the drones are concentrated in to a remote area of afghanistan, a web of the al qaeda brand has been tarnished by the actions of al qaeda in iraq, et cetera, et cetera. so that portrait doesn't necessarily conflict with the fact that cnn reporting a message was intercepted between senior al qaeda members about an attack in some unspecified area of the world in the middle east or asia. those things aren't necessarily contradictory. organizations that are weak can

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commit terrorist acts somewhere in the world. >> the gravity of the global threat, is there any real parallel to the power or the greatness or the capability of al qaeda today in your view? >> parallel to what? >> well, this is a global threat that is impacting so many countries including united states. you have france. you have germany and even great britain that are also closing embassies in 'em embassies in yemen and you have to wonder if it's a response to a threat of al qaeda and extreme groups regained strength if they are certainly a force, you know, that has to be taken very seriously. this is an unprecedented level of closures with embassies and consulates. >> sure. but in the political environment here is post-benghazi. no one wants to go to capitol

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hill a year from testifying about any form of an attack on any government facility anywhere in the world which they could have preempted by closure or the actions we have seen. i think if you do the thought experiment with benghazi hadn't happened, clearly this as you point out unprecedented closures wouldn't have happened. typically when we have had these kinds of threats, the information is quite specific and it's particular country and you get a closure of embassy and consulate facilities in a particular country. this is a generalized threat. but does it mean that al qaeda is back? there's no logical consistency of the idea of a threat from the groups and then somehow that they're back at some status as they were around the time of 9/11. that doesn't make sense. >> in your view has al qaeda or terrorist organizations that have branched off from al qaeda in any way morphed in to something different, more fist kated, reportedly?

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there's a use or possible use of surgically implanted bombs. are these indications that the group is more mofortified in yo view? >> i think it's the reverse. a bomb make who are's implanted bombs in underwear although i don't think there's any evidence that he's been able to put a bomb in somebody's -- actual somebody's body because there are all sorts of problems with detonating such a device. you know, this group is zero for four in its attempts to kill people with the devices. they try to kill the saudi minister responsible for terrorism. that didn't work. they tried to blow up northwest flight over detroit on christmas day 2009. that didn't work. tried to blow up cargo planes going into the united states. that didn't work. they tried to put a bomb on

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another american plane. so far they haven't been able to do anything with them. >> peter, thanks so much. good to see you. >> thank you. we're hearing now new news in this sports world that third baseman a-rod is about to be suspended. but he'll also be in the lineup for tomorrow night when the yankees play the white sox. how does that work? we'll explain. hi, i'm katherine mcphee. through a personal connection to west africa, i had an opportunity to build a preschool. the school master, wonderful woman there, she'd come down with malaria. i had gotten together saying i'd love to see what we can do for her and for all of the people that she works so hard to help. every minute a child dies from malaria. it's something that doesn't need to happen, it's curable,

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lights may be off on capitol hill this week but it doesn't mean it's a quiet week politically. there are threats of protests against obama's health care, presidential road trip and the

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return of mitt romney. political editor paul stein h steinhauser has it all. >> it's august and capitol hill's quiet as lawmakers head back the their home districts and states for summer recess. the big question -- will we see a repeat of this? >> get off of me! >> those were the tea party protests against obama care, congressional town halls four augusts ago. conservative groups say they're planning a repeat performance with pro-obama groups saying they'll be out supporting the law. tuesday the president heads to arizona to talk about the economy. >> growing the economy, making sure that the middle class is strong is like getting in shape. >> then it's on to los angeles later in the day joining jay leno on "the tonight show." the man he beat last year is back in the political spotlight this week. mitt romney is main speaker at a fund-raiser headlining since the

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election lost last november. two republicans to run for president in 2016, rick s sanatorium and ted cruz show up in iowa. fred? >> of course, it is always iowa. thanks so much, paul steinhauser. a baseball superstar reportedly suspended for a game. but a-rod is planning to play tomorrow night. so how will he do that? we'll find out. apiro ] at legal, you can take care of virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. and launch your dreams. you need a girls' weekend and you need it now. ladies, let's go to vegas. cute! waiter! girls' weekend here! priceline savings without the bidding.

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fans of cbs programming in major cities are pretty upset about now. time warner cable and cbs television at odds over transmission fees. so time warner cable has dropped cbs stations in some of the biggest cities. here's alino cho. >> reporter: turn on cbs in new york, l.a. and six other major cities and this is what you will see. no programming, just a slate. with a time warner cable logo and a scathing open letter that reads in part, cbs has made outrageous demands for the programming that it delivers free over the air and online. requiring us to remove their stations from your lineup while we continue to negotiate for fair and reasonable terms. >> i think it's a travesty. i love cbs. >> annoying. everything, a ton of stuff i watch. you know? cbs.

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that's the main annoying thing. david letterman, i'm going to lose my mind. >> reporter: for golf fans, no pga tour this weekend. no "big brother" or "the mentalist." no "60 minutes." roughly 3 million customers affected lose access to cbs-owned premium networks like showtime and the movie channel. why is this happening? the fight is over retransmission fees. the millions cable networks are required to pay broadcasters in exchange for their content. >> pay $200 a month. that's, you know, a lot of money so my thing is, for that kind of money it better work when i want it to work. >> reporter: the contract between cbs and time warner cable expired on june 30th. it was extended and extended again but by 5:00 p.m. eastern friday, time warner had had enough and pulled the plug. cbs says it's the first time in

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its history the network has been dropped by a cable system. the question is, when will viewers be able to see their favorite shows again? nobody knows. >> just get over it. give me my letterman. >> alino cho, cnn, new york. and this is shaking up the world of the mlb. a superstar facing suspension from the game. for at least a year. a-rod learning his fate and fighting to stay in the game. talking to the reporter who broke this story, when we come back. for a country like mine, people like to drink, to dance, to enjoy their life. but with policies, they cannot enjoy their life. it's a pleasure to help two or three people, that would be great. i saw my father ill for 23

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right back to the breaking story. "usa today" reporting that yankees third baseman alex rodriguez will be suspended through the 2014 season. that's suspension coming tomorrow. the paper also says a-rod will appeal that suspension. and that appeal would leave him eligibility to still play tomorrow night in the yankees game against the white sox in chicago. so let's bring in bob

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nightingale from "usa today sports." he broke the story. he's on the phone with us right now from chicago. bob, the mlb suspended a-rod. based on what? >> they believe that he's been lying for years about taking performance-enhancing drugs in the bio genesis investigation. his name is all over the documents. it appears 16 times complete with scheduling and everything else. they believe they have a mountain of evidence to suspend him. >> name on documents. that if their view is enough that even though he never tested positive for the use of performance-enhancing drugs, right? >> correct. they have the director of that clinic cooperating with officials. so they have his testimony and records and from other people, as well, that confirm this to major league baseball, that you guys can suspend him.

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you don't have any prof. >> today's "the new york times" it was reported that his attorneys, a-rod's lawyers, meeting with the mlb. is it likely in the works or part of the discussions were if he is indue suspended and appeal he is able to play tomorrow in the yankees-white sox game? >> yes. he'll be allowed to play. he was trying to negotiate a settlement of being less games. he was thinking more like 100 or 50 games and baseball said, no, we are sticking to this. and stopped all talks whatsoever and tomorrow sometime in the afternoon they're going to announce these suspensions for alex rodriguez plus nine other players. >> do you have any idea who the other plart players might be? >> yeah. and no. not as big of stars but nelson cruz from the texas rangers.

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peralta from the detroit tigers. those type of players. but nine or ten in all. >> a-rod is the big fish here. has he been injured? playing in the minor leagues. or was this part of the plan so as to bring maybe an easy blow to the yankees team or the fans? could there be a real link here? >> well, he was upset. he said they should send him bag earlier. he was healthy enough to play. he had hip surgery in january and almost about to come back july fourth weekend when he had an injury and so now it's been delayed and he says i'm healthy. the yankees say, okay, looks like you are. all word is he'll be in chicago tonight suiting up to be in the starting lineup tomorrow night against the white sox. >> wow. healthy enough to be suspended and play because he's appealing. bob, thank you so much for your time. appreciate it for this breaking story to us.

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>> fred, pleasure. thank you. okay. still talking about sports. in a way. next week, how about the pga? how about walt disney and the obama family? what do they have to common? i'll talk about it in the week ahead straight ahead next.

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crews discover on board a ship seized in panama. that starts the look at the week ahead.

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inspectors of the u.s. and united nations are expected in panama tomorrow to look at that ship recently live munitions, soviet-era missile equipment and fighter jets found hidden under tons of brown sugar. on tuesday, opening statements begin in the trial of suspected ft. hood gunman major hassan. hassan is accused of opening fire on soldiers at the ft. hood military base in texas in november of 2009. 13 people were killed. more than 30 others wounded thursday, the 95th pga starts in rochester, new york. phil mickelson fresh off the british open win will be there with tiger woods. we'll have live updates throughout the championship so stay with us. on friday, it's the ultimate disney fan event. the d 23 expo is happening in anaheim, california. thousands of fans go there to meet disney stars and get behind

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the scenes details of their favorite shows. saturday, president obama and his family head to martha's vin gard. it's become the annual summer vacation spot except last year when he was on the campaign trail. all right. thanks so much for joining us. a look at the top stories and more ahead in new york. hello, welcome to cnn "newsroom." high alert right now the u.s. shut many foreign offices, embassies and consulates over fears of a terror attack. in the afternoon math of a bizarre deadly hit and run on venice beach, everyone is asking why would anyone do this? and he's putting on a brave face but is a-rod just hours away from a baseball suspension or worse, an outright ban?